Chapter 08: The Impact of Information Technology on Society

Almost every job has partial automation potential, and research suggests what percentage of human work activities could be automated using existing technology?

45 percent

A comprehensive view of the patient's complete medical history designed to be shared with authorized providers and staff from more than one organization is known as which of the following?

EHR

Computers and robots can perform a wide range of routine physical work activities better, cheaper, faster, and more safely than humans.

False

Effective use of CDS systems increases the quality of patient care but at the expense of rising healthcare costs.

False

Electronic medical records capture data on the total health of the patient and include more than just the standard clinical data collected in the provider's office thus enabling a broader view of a patient's care.

False

In hospital-related settings, implementing CPOE is associated with a 10 percent decline in preventable adverse drug effects.

False

In the early days of IT in the 1960s, productivity improvements were difficult to measure.

False

It usually takes less than two years for IT investment to result in a significant increase in productivity in large firms.

False

Labor productivity is measured by the annual revenue an employee generates divided by the employee's annual salary.

False

Lifestyle changes have led to a decrease in chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease, that are expensive and difficult to treat.

False

Live telemedicine requires the presence of patients and healthcare providers at the same site.

False

Machine learning is a branch of engineering that involves the development and manufacture of mechanical or computer devices that can perform tasks that require a high degree of precision or that are tedious or hazardous for human beings.

False

The information in an EHR is not easily shared with others outside of the healthcare organization where the data originated.

False

The types of work-related activities best suited for automation include activities associated with managing others, applying expertise in making decisions and offering recommendations, interacting with stakeholders, and performing physical activities in an unstructured and unpredictable environment.

False

Today most radiologists employ a personal health record system to review cases from a remote location.

False

Which of the following requires the presence of patients and healthcare providers at different sites at the same time and often involves a videoconference link between the two sites?

Live telemedicine

What is the name of the project at the Georgia Institute of Technology that uses stories to teach human values to robots?

Quixote

Which of the following helps physicians keep tabs on patients prone to life-threatening health crises?

Remote monitoring

Which of the following involves the regular, ongoing, accurate measurement of an individual's vital signs and other health measures and the transmission of this data to a healthcare provider?

Remote monitoring

Which of the following involves acquiring data, sound, images, and video from a patient and then transmitting everything to a medical specialist for later evaluation?

Store-and-forward telemedicine

Which of the following technologies employs electronic information processing and telecommunications to support at-a-distance health care, provide professional and patient health-related training, and support healthcare administration?

Telehealth

A PHR can exist either as a stand-alone application that allows information to be exported to or imported from other sources or as a "tethered" application connected to a specific healthcare organization's information system.

True

A computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system enables physicians to place orders (for drugs, laboratory tests, radiology, physical therapy) electronically, with the orders transmitted directly to the recipient.

True

Clinical decision support (CDS) is a process and a set of tools designed to enhance healthcare-related decision making through the use of clinical knowledge and patient-specific information to improve healthcare delivery.

True

Machine learning has contributed to the development of a much more in-depth understanding of the human genome as well as practical speech recognition, improved web search results, and self-driving cars.

True

More advanced artificial-intelligence-based clinical decision support systems can help doctors choose the proper dosage levels of medication based on a patient's most recent tests results.

True

Natural language processing is an aspect of artificial intelligence that involves technology that allows computers to understand, analyze, manipulate, and/or generate "natural" languages, such as English.

True

Remote monitoring involves the regular, ongoing, accurate measurement of an individual's vital signs and other health measures and the transmission of this data to a healthcare provider.

True

Since businesses implemented automated payroll systems, fewer accounting employees are needed.

True

Store-and-forward telemedicine involves acquiring data, sound, images, and video from a patient and then transmitting everything to a medical specialist for later evaluation.

True

The development and use of new medical technology, such as new diagnostic procedures and treatments, also contributes to the increase in healthcare spending per person.

True

The standard of living varies greatly among groups within a country as well as from nation to nation.

True

There are thousands of mobile applications available to improve patient's access to healthcare information and to enable doctors to keep a close watch on patients' conditions.

True

Which of the following is NOT one of the three major components of machine learning systems?

a function

An electronic medical record includes which of the following?

a patient's immunization records

Which of the following activities is least suited for automation?

activities associated with managing others

Advances in which of the following areas are fundamentally changing the way work gets done and have the potential to affect the tasks, roles, and responsibilities of most workers?

artificial intelligence

Which of the following systems include the people, procedures, hardware, software, data, and knowledge needed to develop computer systems and machines that simulate human intelligence processes?

artificial intelligence systems

A process and a set of tools designed to enhance healthcare-related decision making through the use of clinical knowledge to improve healthcare delivery is known as which of the following?

clinical decision support

What type of system enables physicians to place orders electronically, with the order transmitted directly to the recipient?

computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system

One of the fundamental ways in which companies can try directly to increase productivity is by:

consolidating operations to better leverage economies of scale

IT investments may produce tangible results such as:

cost savings

An example of robotics can be found in which of the following examples?

device used to move heavy pallets

Researchers have found that it can take how long for IT investment to result in a significant increase in productivity?

five to seven years

Which process can reduce expensive redundant tests that are ordered because one provider does not have access to the clinical information stored at another provider's location?

health information exchange

Remote monitoring is also known as which of the following?

home monitoring

Innovation is a key factor in productivity improvement. Which of the following has played an important role in enabling innovation?

information technology

A measure of economic performance that compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the number of labor hours used in producing those goods and services is known as which of the following?

labor productivity

What type of artificial intelligence involves computer programs that can learn some task and improve performance with experience?

machine learning

It is difficult to quantify how much the use of IT has contributed to worker productivity because:

many other factors influence worker productivity rates besides IT

The primary areas where IT has been applied include all of the following except:

medical language processing

Which aspect of artificial intelligence involves technology that allows computers to understand, analyze, manipulate, and/or generate English?

natural language processing

What is another name for a tethered PHR?

patient portal

How often does The Bureau of Labor Statistics track U.S. productivity?

quarterly

Which of the following examples is a use of wireless technology in the healthcare field?

transmit ECG data to a physician's smartphone